


Metroid: Remnants of the Past

by Chesteng



Category: Metroid Series
Genre: Action, Gen, Happy 20th Anniversary, Zero Mission mostly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 07:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8196014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chesteng/pseuds/Chesteng
Summary: The recollection of Samus's final mission on Zebes before laying the grudge between her and Ridley to rest. Though what was in store differed greatly from her expectations.





	

“Why don’t we begin with your initial contact with the Space Pirates?” A man curtly began his duty of debriefing the bounty hunter.

 

“Why don’t you pay me first? Shame to see the Federation send their worst officer to debrief me.” A woman retaliated with words to show her experience with them. She was used to seeing the Federation try to get information without completing their side of the deal.

 

The man beckoned a standby soldier and whispered something into the side of his helmet. She couldn’t hear what it was but inferred it was to handle her payment. He wouldn’t want to lose face in front of the bounty hunter who single handedly brought the Space Pirates down.

 

“As you requested, the transaction is being handled. If you wish, you may check and reaffirm our bargain.”

 

“No thanks, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to stiff me anyways.”

 

A sign of agitation could be seen on the man’s face as a vein dangerously popped on his right temple. She knew the Federation would treat her well as they had cooperated plenty of times before and she had a history with one of commanders but she wouldn’t let her obligations as a bounty hunter become stale.

 

“*Ahem* Then, Samus Aran, the debriefing will now proceed.”

 

Samus dematerialized her Power Suit to begin describing the mission she handled.

 

。

。

。

 

Her ship had landed on a rocky environment but still held the necessary requirements for a smooth landing. This place wasn’t unfamiliar as she was here once before in the past. She wanted to wander aimlessly to explore the place she once called home but her time here wasn’t for reminiscing; she had a mission to complete.

 

“Zebes...” Her mouth moved unconsciously as if to reciprocate the memories she held though the planet was now infested by monstrosities and criminals alike. This was no longer her home.

 

An orange glow enveloped her body as the infamous Power Suit that would imitate the characteristics of the Chozo had materialized once sensing the danger around. The misconception of Samus’s armor being magical was dispelled once they had heard of its origin, who were considered the most advanced race of the time and also, the most destructive.

 

Her focus shifted from momentarily recalling the past to accomplishing her objective: Destroy the Space Pirate’s base.

 

She headed towards an opening in the ground and immediately fell into the hole where architecture of the inhabitants littered the surroundings as well as the decay of many others. Her eyes trailed towards the creatures walking towards her position and the one who was on the ceiling.

 

They were covered in spikes and appear to be crab-like. The crimson pearl eyes they possessed looked onwards, ignoring anything that wasn’t a threat. Samus recalled the information she was given beforehand on the creatures that currently inhabit the planet, these were called ‘Zoomers’. They weren’t considered as a danger due to their limited intelligence but are proven harmful if one were to run into their spikes.

 

In the distance, something glowed that really caught her attention. The path was blocked by a floating rock structure that could easily be traversable from her side but could easily block her exit. The caverns in Zebes were unforgiving after all so making a dumb decision could mean the end of her life. Nevertheless, her curiosity prompted her to investigate.

 

She jumped over the Zoomers with ease and got to the top of the rock formation. There, she discovered a forgotten technology left behind by the Chozo. As easy it would be to go down to get it, it would also mean being potentially stranded as the drop would render her unable to reach the top and her scan visor couldn’t identify what it was.

 

Was she really going to leave behind technology left behind by her foster parents? She judged it was necessary to collect all technology pertaining the history of the Chozo in order to preserve the history of a civilization.

 

She landed a ways off the pedestal that was holding the artifact and her suit began reacting strangely. Her instincts told her this was something she needed in order to overcome the obstacles she might face. She drew closer and her suit absorbed the artifact, releasing the memories held within.

 

[Morph Ball]

 

Her visor indicated the acquisition of an additional add-on to her suit. She was perplexed to see that her suit had remembered how to morph ball as it was already built in. Her previous encounters with these types of artifacts would begin the same but most were additional equipment to handle the planet’s environment. Perhaps this was just an artifact for past Chozo who wasn’t equipped with this or somehow became damaged so morphing was impossible. Regardless of the reason, she was pleased to know she had recovered a piece of the Chozo technology and continued with her journey.

 

Her fears became truth as the rock structure prevented the ability of going back. It was a dead end at the other side and there’s no alternate path.

 

A Zoomer with its brightly colored shell appeared at the bottom and Samus took notice. She quickly blasted the creature and appeared an opening big enough for her to crawl through. Of course, she could crawl but the amount of time she spends travelling through could potentially allow creatures to launch an ambush. The morph ball greatly reduced this chance as it was the fastest form of travel through small openings.

 

She had morphed into a ball, about half a meter in height, and ended up back to where her mission began. The right pathway had been sealed off by an energy door. Opening it would require little effort as they would open at the slightest implementation of energy. She headed into the next room where parasites crawled over a cracked floor. These parasites were hard to hit with her power beam but once attached to her suit, it would be a matter of using an energy bomb to get rid of them. Despite knowing their weaknesses, she opted to avoid combat to finish without destroying the ecosystem. After jumping over them and passing through the next room, a statue representing the bird-like creatures loomed over the pathway.

 

Upon seeing the statue, she was reminded of Old Bird and Grey Voice. They would always warn her about the dangers surrounding her but she chose to fight them rather than run. The statue was erected in a position that appeared to be summoning something with its hands held out.

 

Without hesitation, she morphed into a ball atop the statue’s hands and immediately began the transferring process of the memories left behind.

 

‘In a room, there is an essential object for your quest.’

 

The statue talked to her, revealing information that would vastly assist her. The Chozo species were amazing innovators so they had infused these relics with a part of their mind, allowing for others to obtain their pursuit for knowledge. For Samus, it would be guidance to unlock more equipment or weaknesses of the native enemies.

 

Her path was now clear. Obtain the equipment the statue directed her to-

 

“Look, Ms. Aran. I understand I said to begin with the beginning but we’re on a time crunch. I would greatly appreciate it if you could just elaborate on the details comprising the Space Pirates.” The officer interrupted her report due to the excruciating details of just arriving on Zebes.

 

“I was happy to oblige to your request but it seems I was mistaken. Alright, there was Kraid, who appeared to be supporting the Space Pirates, Ridley, the commander of the Space Pirates, and Mother Brain who controlled the Space Pirates.”

 

“Would you care to elaborate? Knowing who was leading the Space Pirates would help us immensely in the pursuit of the remaining survivors. Kraid? We were only aware of Ridley commanding the pirates.”

 

“Kraid, to say the least was massive. His weaponry involved spikes that would launch from his abdomen and appeared to be never ending.”

 

“Explain your fight with him and make note of how he was defeated.”

 

“With pleasure.”

 

。

。

。

 

The door leading into the room was blocked off by some foreign monster who opened its eye to send a shockwave in front of it. Samus saw this opportunity to shoot missiles into the center to destroy it. Like she had anticipated, the monster fragmented into pieces, only leaving behind traces of energy which allowed her suit to absorb and replenish her arsenal.

 

Behind the door, Samus could feel a threat she couldn’t recognize since her arrival. It was unlike any other, relatively speaking it still posed little threat when she once faced Ridley. Suddenly, the ground began to violently rumble, almost causing her to lose footing. The behemoth standing in front of her caused her throat to go dry. It was normal for bounty hunters to engage with large creatures but their instincts would force abnormal bodily reactions in response to warn them ‘Do not engage or forfeit your life!’ Despite every inch of her body screaming to run, her mind silenced them and allowed her training to kick in.

 

The monster let loose a piercing roar. “RAWWWWWW-”

 

However, Samus wouldn’t let an opportunity like this to slip and fired two missiles consecutively into its gaping mouth.

 

“KRAWWAKAWW” The monster voiced the pain she inflicted. Its claw swiped down vertically on her but she had already jumped to avoid it. Its hand slammed onto the ledge until it crashed down on the floor below. Samus was unfazed by its action and continued to fire off missiles into its mouth whenever it opened it. The monster began to approach her, forcing her to jump off the remaining platform. She had not seen the projectiles being shot out of his stomach though luckily it barely grazed her shoulder. The damage was not as fortunate however, as it depleted a fourth of her energy reserves.

 

Its attacks were relentless but Samus knew its weak point. She noticed the spikes clinging onto the wall where without thinking, she leaped on the first one, dodged the incoming second spike, and scaled the wall by landing on them. She continued to concentrate her missiles to its mouth but something felt strange. Her perception was aware of its increasing rate of fire and movements. Everytime she inflicted more damage, the more it fueled its strength. This battle of attrition would soon be her demise as her visor indicated low missile reserves. She had three left and the monster wouldn’t ease its ferocity.

 

Roll to the left, avoid its right swing. Jump right after, avoid the spikes. Roll to the right, avoid its left swing. Samus repeated this because she was waiting for the opportune moment to launch the remaining three. These three had to count.

 

As she leapt to dodge the incoming curved spikes, it roared once again, and without hesitation, she launched the missiles.

 

“1...” She counted the missile as a confirmed hit. “2...” The next missile had also made its mark. “3..?!” The creature had closed its mouth before the third missile could hit. Her body froze in midair after witnessing the missile failing to secure the kill. She got swatted down by its right claw and the floor made a terrible crashing sound as the resulting crater would scar the room. The suit had taken most of the impact but would conversely deplete energy.

 

[WARNING: ENERGY IS AT 4%]

 

An exclamation mark appeared with the accompany of alternating red lights prompting retreat. Samus couldn’t escape however, the platform was now destroyed and the door sealed off by the monster in front of her. Allowing the Power Suit to disengage now would mean certain death.

 

She followed the same actions she took before, jump on the spikes while avoiding additional spikes being flung towards her. Seeing it roaring again, she charged her power beam up while infused with ice affinity. She had regretted not thinking of this sooner so she could have preserved a few missiles for unknown threats in the future but now wasn’t the time to dwell on the matter. She steadied her arm and fired preemptively, the travel time would be slightly slower so she had to predict when it would be roar. She had been counting the seconds since his last so it wasn’t an entire guess and the beam landing was proof of that.

 

It may have been a direct hit but it wasn’t enough, one more for sure. Her body glided to the floor below and she easily dodged the spikes aimed at her. Once again, she climbed to the top with ease and began charging up. The time window to shoot was nearing and the monster’s attacks increased with fervor making it increasingly difficult for her to focus. She could patiently wait for another opening but that would also increase the chance of being hit and that would mean she’d wasted her only chance.

 

She lifted her body upwards and, going by her count, fired.

 

“!!!” It never crossed her mind that the creature would perform a feint, delaying its ferocious howl by a second. Needless to say, it had no effect on it. It swung down its claw to obliterate the last moments of the bounty hunter. She was stranded mid air, there wasn’t any maneuverability for her to avoid being hit unless...

 

Within a split second, her body contorted to enact a somersault that followed the trajectory of his swing. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she escaped by the inch of her hair. The adrenaline fueling her body assisted her mind to react quickly by rebounding off the wall and firing a charged beam though it hardly had time to fully charge, she judged it would be enough.

 

Her experience came to fruition as the creature let a deathly bellow, perhaps signaling the end of its will to fight. She wouldn’t ease her guard however. The creature’s body started to sink in the floor while numerous parts of its body began to explode. At last, as the creature’s head sunk into the darkness below, it let one final cry as it desperately clung onto the last of its life. Within a few moments, it had become eerily silent.

 

She couldn’t confirm its death but was certain it had been dealt with. The abomination was no longer in the room so she could finally realize the extent of his size. Regardless, she moved onwards to the next room which was being blocked by debris but a few energy bombs would be able to handle it.

 

Inside the next room, stood another Chozo statue holding another artifact. She swiftly headed up and morphed into a ball. Her suit fused with the artifact.

 

[Speed Booster]

 

She had heard of this artifact before from Old Bird and its capabilities. In fact, they allowed her to experiment for a few and she quickly discovered a shinespark function. This artifact wasn’t implemented in her suit since they believed she would be reckless with it but now, the ability would immensely help her get access to areas hard to reach.

 

That wasn’t all that she acquired. The statue linked with her suit and implemented the information surrounding the creature she had just fought as well as replenishing the suit’s energy.

 

‘Kraid, the Space Pirate’s fearsome leader, has inhabited this section to guard this treasure.’

 

The statue only revealed the creature’s name and affiliation before running out of power. The inanimate monument closed its eyes as it successfully carried out its duty. The remains of the Chozo statue would shut down forever, leaving Samus alone to accomplish her own battle.

 

“So you weren’t able to confirm Kraid’s death?” The federation officer was amazed to hear Samus voicing a slight mishap on her part.

 

“Kraid suddenly sunk into the depths of the cavern. I assure you that he was fully taken of.”

 

“And if he wasn’t?”

 

“I assure you, he wouldn’t dare think of that.” She felt her stern reassurance would clear any of the officer’s suspicions but rather she was more hostile than she thought. The fault wouldn’t fully remain with her as the officer was instigating by belittling her ability.

 

“Even if he wasn’t properly handled, there wouldn’t be any remains left since the base blew up.” Another soldier hurriedly ran to his side and whispered something into his ear. “Is that so? It seems we’ll take a small break here. We’ve spotted something relevant to the stragglers.”

 

In an instant, both the soldier and officer left Samus alone in the debriefing room. She wasn’t eager to wait and started to drift to the control room. She was searching for something though her objective wasn’t exactly clear. Nothing. She could have sworn that he would wouldn’t pass up a chance to observe her progress. She was disappointed to find nothing and decided to wait back in the debriefing room, she had nothing to offer to assist in the search anyways.

 

“Aren’t you a bit hasty? It appears you haven’t grown a bit.” An unknown voice enveloped the room through the speakers placed in the corners.

 

“You like to keep a woman waiting don’t you? How unsightly.” She rebuked the voice’s statement and revealed a slight grin.

 

“There was something more down there than just Space Pirates wasn’t there?”

 

“As always, you know how to read between the lines. Zebes was my home, it wasn’t easy to see it being defiled. But I gained something down there I couldn’t have with you.”

 

“Hn? What’s that?”

 

“Insight. My parents died when Ridley attacked my birthplace but Old Bird kept me from that fact. It wasn’t until later I learned about my true parents and how blind I had become in my mission for vengeance.”

 

“It seems I was mistaken. Perhaps you’re finally realizing how I felt during my decision-”

 

“No, I will never understand your choice. You could have saved him. I. Could have saved him.”

 

“Your words are still haughty. I did what I had to and that’s that. You wouldn’t be here today if I had not made that choice, and to me, losing another member is inexcusable.”

 

“...”

 

“Finish your report and try not to cause anymore problems. I have enough to handle.”

 

“Yet you manage to find the time to talk to me. Isn’t that strange?”

 

“We are currently tracking down the remains of the Space Pirates that escaped. I would not be much of assistance whether I’m there or down here. I expect you to be on your best behavior.” The voice appeared to have left but soon started once again. “Any objections, lady?”

 

Samus couldn’t help contain her smile from forming. She said nothing in response rather, she held her hand out and motioned her hand downward with her thumb pointing down. It wasn’t certain if he had seen what she motioned but that didn’t stop Samus.

 

。

。

。

 

“Excuse me for leaving so suddenly. Please continue with your report. I recall you finishing your report on Kraid.”

 

“I was beginning with Ridley.”

 

“Ridley... If memory serves, Ridley was the one who attacked your home planet. My sincere sympathies.”

 

“I appreciate the thought but I’ve already put that in the past. Besides, I’ve already had my share.”

 

“I hope you’ve buried the hatchet then. Please proceed.”

 

In truth, she hadn’t because her instincts told her Ridley was still out there somehow. He was sure to return to haunt her. She would be ready this time for the time he comes back.

 

。

。

。

 

Just arriving in a spacious room, stood a single Chozo statue with various areas cracked. Samus was curious how it came to be as Chozo architects were highly praised for the durability of monuments and the wonder of infusing them with life made them next to impossible to destroy. It was obvious something with unbelievable strength could have accomplished this.

 

She hopped onto the hands of the statue and morphed into a ball.

 

‘Be wary.’

 

The statue uttered only two words before releasing the rest of its energy to replenish Samus’s suit. Up until now, most of the information they gave were locations for additional gear or providing insight on a foe’s weakness. This made Samus become tense as the premonition of a horrible ambush could signify Ridley, her archnemesis.

 

With her energy reserves filled up, she continued on. The hallway seemed normal with the exception of lava excreting from the floor. There wasn’t any encounters with small creatures making Samus’s suspicions correct. There was something here.

 

Cautiously, she approached the other door in hopes it would be as simple like that but to her expectations, they had been sealed off.

 

“SCRRAAAAWWW” A paralyzing screech emerged from behind. Her worst fear had finally shown its true face.

 

Ridley.

 

The monster that ravaged her home twice, the monster that killed her parents twice, she wasn't going to run away again. She possessed the power to defeat him here, but why won’t her body follow her directions? The worst scenario occurred right in front of her, she wasn’t moving because of the trauma inflicted on her as a child. She feared she wouldn’t be able to defeat him. She feared her best attempt wouldn’t be enough. She feared dying.

 

“The little child that managed to escape, you’ve come back. Foolish. I won’t let a morsel escape once again!” Ridley taunted her knowing the face of the naive girl that tried to befriend him. Samus couldn’t understand his words due to the Space Pirate language sounding more like feral screams than coherent phrases. Nevertheless, underneath the Power Suit, Samus froze in a cold sweat before her nemesis.

 

“I’d be happy to finally reunite the little girl and her family. You don’t even deserve a place as part of my cells, I’d rather keep you barely alive, practicing my chewing for my next victim until you beg for mercy. Only then, I will feed you to the Metroids. I pity the little nutrients you’d provide.” He made crude jokes about Samus despite knowing her inability to comprehend him.

 

He spewed fireballs from his beak to quickly engulf her in a sea of flames. He did this to judge her fighting potential as anyone who died from this wouldn’t even be worth of being mentioned let alone being thought of as an opponent but the reports of Kraid being defeated by her was no joke. He needed something to uncover what weapons she used.

 

In a puff of smoke, the flames were extinguished by a few successions of the beam she used.

 

‘Curious. She fires some unknown beam from her left arm. She must be incapacitated there.’ He planned his strategy once understanding the flaw in her suit. He followed up with a barrage of tail skewers aimed at her left arm. It was interesting to watch Samus take evasive actions through intricate acrobatics but he noticed her passiveness. She wasn’t willing to fight back.

 

“What’s wrong? Afraid of hurting your mother? You seem to forget she can no longer see how her daughter had become.” He cackled at his snide remark, “How inferior she was to forfeit her life for this degenerate lifeform. This is why humans will fall to our reign.”

 

Every victim during the invasion of K2-L had become integrated within him because he had been stranded and the only way he could have survive was to scavenge on the corpses. He acknowledged her existence because of this humiliating defeat. He considered himself above the primal species and feasting on the same primitives made him concede his beliefs momentarily. He swore revenge on the last remaining survivor.

 

He flailed his wings to close the distance between them. His talons eagerly struck at the place she stood but was unable to come in contact with flesh. He couldn’t find where she had went but that wouldn’t prevent his sense of smell. The one thing he loves smelling more than blood was the smell of fear and she was full of it.

 

‘Below!’ He stabbed his tail into the floor where Samus might have been hiding and felt the tear of flesh. Samus retreated from her location and once again, both were in the same place when the fight had begun though she received a critical injury. Upon realizing his chance, he swooped towards her and gripped her helmet with one hand. In this close range, it would be virtually impossible for her to avoid being hit by the fireballs.

 

One then four then eight fireballs were discharged at an astonishing rate. All of them seemingly to hit Samus.

 

“Weaklings should stay weak- Guoh?!” He was appalled when something pierced through his armor and caused a sharp pain. He hadn’t seen clearly what it was but it was enough for him to loosen his grip.

 

“You bitch!” He was furious now; an inferior being managed to damage his impenetrable armor. He responded with a chaotic swing of his tail, pounding the floor, and piercing the wall with his talons.

 

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t pin her and every time he missed, she replied with another foreign weapon that caused him to inch towards his death. His rage produced more adrenaline to allow quicker movements and stronger attacks but alas, nothing yielded results.

 

“I am not about to lose to a shitty brat!” In a fuel of rage, he fired his plasma flames to cover the entire room. Every living thing would instantly vaporize in wake of his terrifying plumes. The discoloration of the walls were apparent as the flames produced a color darker than the shade of black. He couldn’t sense her anymore nor could he smell her distinct fear. At last, he had enacted his revenge.

 

“I will finish what my father started!” A voice came from below within the lava, she had purposely taken damage to calm the storm inside of her. To prevent her fear from getting the better of herself. Her super missile landed directly on his wings, rendering them unusable. Ridley fell to the ground but caught his footing with his tail.

 

Samus didn’t stop here. She continued to fire off more missiles in addition of a charged Wave Beam to push Ridley back. He had no choice but to defend against the massive amounts of projectiles being launched at him with his damaged wings. Samus didn’t falter at his superior defence. She fired super missiles that were able to penetrate through his wings and hit his abdomen.

 

Now paralyzed, Ridley could only watch as she took strides to his imminent death.

 

“Gwooh... Never in my life had I encountered such a difficult prey. Had I pursued you then, I would be standing triumphantly above your wretched species-”

 

“Shut up, you disgusting monster,” Samus fired one last super missile into his mouth, effectively causing the rest of his body to implode. Her victory over Ridley came at a cost of breaking several ribs and mentally experiencing her trauma again. In truth, she was still shaking over the corpse of the deceased Ridley. She would not overcome this trauma sooner than she had anticipated.

 

As difficult it was, she had finally completed her vengeance but felt hollow. Standing atop the corpse of her enemy should have brought a peace of mind but instead brought forth more turmoil. She couldn’t prevent herself from experiencing the death of her mother, the death of Grey Voice, the destruction of her home, the memory of losing her parents as a child, all of it. She gained nothing and lost the most important thing to her: her reason for existing.

 

She may be the greatest bounty hunter ever known but it isn’t as if her emotions fell short from an ordinary person. Her knees collapsed, for she cried her heart out.

 

。

。

。

 

“What happened after defeating Ridley?” The officer inquired.

 

“Nothing. I defeated him and continued onwards.”

 

The officer formed a disgruntled face as if disappointed with the lack of a climax. “What could you tell us about Mother Brain?”

 

“Mother Brain was an artificial A.I. and its origins were unknown. It was assisting the Space Pirates so I eliminated it.”

 

“There has been reports of Mother Brain being of Chozo origin. We would love to confirm whether this is true or not but since we only have your word to rely on, was it?”

 

Samus paused momentarily to think about the consequences of her words. If she told them the truth, the Chozo might be designated as warlike species again and would be under scrutiny of the Federation. At the same time, denying could mean treason and blockade of an ongoing investigation, in other words, it could strip her of the cooperation and protection of the remaining Chozo. Her heart opted to say no regardless.

 

“No, the Chozo people were highly advanced but they made innovations for prevailing peace. The construction of Mother Brain could have been technology stolen or better yet, an unknown partner.” Samus was aware of the corruption within the Federation. Enabling them would better yet give them a reason to undignify her and the Chozo. Redirecting all of the blame on the Space Pirates who were notorious for their inhumane treatment, is better than the Chozo being viewed as a warmonger.

 

“Hmm... Then we must be wary.”  The officer stood from his seat, “You’re free to go, we will be giving you a ship temporarily in exchange for the Space Pirate ship you’ve commandeered.” He left soon after.

 

Samus ventured back to her temporary Federation ship but ignored entering it. She figured it might have some tracking device to pinpoint her location once she leaves. Her command module on her right arm opened and with a few clicks, Samus was content with the time shown.

 

[30 minutes until arrival]

 

She had limited access around the ship to wander about. Times like these, she’d stop by the research department and see what new inventions they could concoct. She had heard of a experimental development to improve her Power Suit but the Chozo refused to give them information to develop more suits. They even found some kind of substance that would poison organic material but Samus wasn’t interested in something destructive. She was more focused on the containment of Metroids. Since they had collected a few samples, they were eager to discover the properties they had. Little did they know about the actual properties the Metroids had.

 

Samus also found Metroids on Zebes but telling them would be the same as opening Pandora’s Box. It was better for it to die off with the planet.

 

She explored the training range and saw many cadets firing blasters with little accuracy. She had never used their type of blaster but could see the resemblance between them and her blaster. Almost as if they were copying her weapon.

 

“Ah, if it isn’t Ms. Aran. Would you give me the pleasure and showing these cadets how to fire correctly?” The training instructor stopped his lesson to welcome Samus.

 

“I wouldn’t mind showing them a bit.” She complied with his request as she had plenty of time to spare. She materialized her suit and aimed at the moving targets that were hidden behind various backdrops. In fact, she shot from her position, further than where the cadets were shooting. She had hit all of them, all 36 on the head.

 

“My goodness Ms. Aran! Impressive! If I could recall, you were once a cadet?”

 

“That is correct but circumstances caused me to retire.”

 

“May I ask what?”

 

“Despite being raised as a soldier, there are moments in war where you understand the scale of your fight. For me, that fight is only beginning as a bounty hunter not as a Federation soldier.”

 

“Well said, thank you for sparing us your time. Now then, everyone who cannot perform at least half of her excellent marksmanship will be sent to PT for the next week. MOVE IT!”

 

Samus watched on as the cadets struggled to properly hold a rifle before noticing the timer counting down to zero. She headed back to the bay area.

 

There, another ship resembling her signature armor awaited. This one was more sharper with its design but she preferred the oblique shaped ship more though this gunship held more firepower. The roaring of the engine flared as she entered and prepared to take her leave. The remaining chase would be left up to the Federation and she placed her trust on a single entity to get the job done.

 

She directed her ship to an unmarked star and drifted for a while. Only after a few hours did she start up another jump set manually by her. She was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the void to keep her company. Almost immediately upon arriving, her radio chatter engaged in heavy activity.

 

“I thought I told you to stop visiting me. I’m not that old yet.” The mysterious voice emanated from the radio on her control panel.

 

“I found something during my mission on Zebes.”

 

“Zebes huh... Well no use dwelling on the past. What was it you found?”

 

“It’s a drawing when I was young. With you in it and him.”

 

“Ah... so that means you visited the ruins there. I hope the journey was worth it.”

 

“It was... I never got to say sorry to Grey Voice but he was there along with me.”

 

“...”

 

“The statues. They were built by him weren’t they?”

 

“Yes, he argued for our protection against the Space Pirates so he had them built and while technically it didn’t go against our block, it took a toll on him to create weapons.”

 

“So that was him...”

 

“He probably wouldn’t say it but he was very proud of you. He looked at you as his daughter. Remember his words but don’t let our failed experiments become your legacy. What else did you find?”

 

“Ridley.”

 

“That crude winged beast? What happened of him?”

 

“I...I killed him.”

 

“Did you!? Have our words bound no meaning? Exacting revenge does not fill the void in our hearts, only when we learn to forgive do our hearts begin to mend. I’m sorry to yell, I know it must have been difficult to see his wretched personality.”

 

“No, I needed that. I was blinded by my quest that I didn’t stop to listen to his words though it mostly sounded like gibberish.”

 

“What about the Metroids?”

 

“They were there. I couldn’t allow either side to obtain it so I exterminated them all.”

 

“I see... I must warn you then about their actual duty.”

 

“I know, the Metroids were used to feed on lifeforce. I imagine something will threaten the existence of all life is out there somewhere.”

 

“Mother Brain?”

 

“Destroyed.”

 

“Shame. They weren’t supposed to be this way. I guess this is what they mean by ‘our time as protectors is up’. We’ll leave it to the human race to fix what we couldn’t.”

 

“One more thing before I go.”

 

“What might that be?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“For what?”

 

“I regret every day that pass without telling Grey Voice my true feelings so I want to leave knowing that you know how I feel.”

 

“Samus, it is us who should be thanking you. We were foolish trying to protect everyone through peaceful ways. There exists beings like Ridley whose only aim is for the destruction of everyone else. We were powerless to fight back. If only we had known this beforehand before implementing everyone with a block. Grey Voice might still be alive. Even now we are powerless except you. So Samus, Grey Voice would have the same to say. Thank you.”

 

She closed the channel between them and started up another jump to The Locker, an area where bounty hunters are said to relax. Her possessions would also be stored there but she had one purpose for heading there, to store the most valuable cargo she held, never to be out of her sight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> As for this story, I really got inspired to write something like this when I was playing this game when someone special came up to me and started to talk with me about the game. it brought back memories of the good times and I wanted to capture that feeling though it wouldn't be an interesting story if I just made it a retelling so I had to interpret it somehow in an interesting way when the same person gave me an interesting idea. So once again, I am forever in their debt.


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